Sign up for the free Missoula This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Missoula city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up 09/11/2026 Hello and good morning. It’s Katie with the latest edition of Missoula This Week.  Today marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Ceremonies are scheduled for this morning and this evening, more on that below. In this issue, we have the final update on Missoula County’s 2027 budget and what it means for your property tax bill. We also hear more about a new resource for youth in crisis.But first, a weather preview ☀️  Following a slight chance of rain Friday morning, the clouds should clear, and the high temperature will be in the low 70s, according to the National Weather Service’s Missoula office. Saturday will be the day to get outside and enjoy partly sunny conditions with a high around 70 degrees before showers and possibly a thunderstorm overnight. Sunday will be cool and rainy.  Youth Homes opens therapeutic shelter  When I toured Youth Home’s Tom Roy Youth Guidance Home in April 2025, it was to see the location of the organization’s one bed set aside for youth experiencing a crisis in Missoula. Amy Schaer, the organization’s CEO, told me then that Youth Homes was planning an entire group home for youth in crisis, who would otherwise often end up in the emergency room or in juvenile detention.  After a fundraising campaign earlier this year, that eight-bed co-ed therapeutic crisis shelter in Missoula’s Orchard Homes neighborhood will open its doors next week.   “Currently, there is not a place for kids to go [who are] in crisis, who are the ages of 10 to 17,” Schaer told me Wednesday at the ribbon cutting for the Birnbaum Youth Home. “So to be able to open not just a home, but a home that feels like a home where they can just be, it feels really monumental.”  Mike Birnbaum, Amy Schaer, Nancy Birnbaum and Mona Rogers cut the ribbon in front of the new Birnbaum Youth Home Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. Credit: Katie Fairbanks/MTFP The Birnbaum Youth Home, named for Geoff Birnbaum, the organization’s longtime executive director who died last year, will provide a safe environment for children in crisis and allow them to continue their education and access other services, Schaer told the crowd gathered for the ribbon cutting. A shelter stay could last 24 hours to 90 days.  The organization previously ran a similar shelter, the Attention Home, from 1976 until 2023. It closed due to challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, workforce shortages, the housing crisis and inflation, said Shannone Hart, a Youth Homes board member.  “Over the last three years, more than 150 young people in our community needed a safe place to go and didn’t have one,” Hart said. “So for the past two years, we’ve worked together to build something new, something better, something stronger. A place where young people can find safety, support and hope when they need it the most.”  Youth Homes expects the shelter to serve about 100 youth each year. The organization is working with other providers in the community to create a larger system of care for children in crisis, Schaer said.  “For kids finding themselves in situations that don’t have many options, if they don’t have family members here that can take care of them, there’s really no place for them to go,” she said. “The options are not good options. And so this community, I think, is a much stronger community by recognizing that need and providing this home for kids who need it.”  Youth Homes is raising the remaining $100,000 to complete the $4 million shelter project and has created wish lists of items to be donated to stock the house.   By the Numbers 🔢 The percentage the Missoula County commissioners voted to raise property taxes as part of the 2027 budget, approved Sept. 3. Most homeowners will see a decrease in their county property taxes due to legislative changes to tax rates, according to the county. However, the taxes for second homes and short-term rentals will increase.  The county’s total revenue is about $228.5 million, with $86.6 million, about 38%, from property taxes. That revenue increased by $6.2 million over last year, with a $2.3 million increase in property taxes, according to the county. That additional revenue mainly covers the cost-of-living increases to county employee wages and healthcare costs, said Chris Lounsbury, the county’s chief administrative officer.  The budget includes several new one-time requests largely funded by an estimated $1.97 million tax increment financing remittance from the city. On Sept. 3, the commissioners also approved new requests not included in the preliminary budget, including a new Taser contract for the sheriff’s department and funding for two part-time positions at the clerk and recorder/treasurer’s office. The commissioners also gave the final OK to levy an additional mill, worth about $370,000, to pay for a $3.5 million loan for replacing leaky pipes at the jail.  An average home valued at $576,300 inside city limits will pay about $993 in county taxes, about $104 less than last year, according to the county. Outside city limits, a home of that same value will pay about $1,214 in county taxes, about $133 less than last year.  As required by a new state law, the commissioners also created a large taxpayer reserve account. The funding for that account comes from newly taxable properties and can only be used to offset the burden on remaining taxpayers if the county loses one of its top 20 taxpayers, Lounsbury said.  “I think it’s a prudent budget,” Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said before the vote. “It’s a budget that retains some level of capacity by way of the taxing authority we have not chosen to exercise this budget cycle, even though there is plenty of deferred maintenance and needs across Missoula County that we could invest in.”  Meeting Minutes 📝 County Commission  The Missoula County commissioners Tuesday signed onto a letter supporting the Ravalli County commissioners’ opposition to a less stringent environmental review recommended for the proposed Sheep Creek mine in the Bitterroot National Forest.  For years, Ravalli County residents have expressed concern and opposition to U.S. Critical Minerals’ proposal to mine for minerals used in smartphones, semiconductors and thermostats in the area south of Darby. Earlier this summer, the Bitterroot National Forest announced that it is evaluating the Sheep Creek proposal under a categorical exclusion, which allows agencies to skip more in-depth environmental assessments. The commissioners’ letter asks for a more thorough review.  “We share the concerns the Ravalli County commissioners and their constituents have raised, including water quality and supply risks; ecological, agricultural and wildlife impacts; impacts to the recreation and tourism economies; and concerns related to public health and safety,” the Missoula County commissioners wrote.   School Board  The Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees voted 8- 2 Tuesday to join a new statewide public school health insurance trust, despite some employees urging the district to hold off.  In 2023, lawmakers dedicated $40 million to establish the trust, provided that at least 150 school districts with a total of 12,000 employees joined. The bill aimed to reduce the cost of health benefits for teachers, administrators and other school employees. Missoula County Public Schools is self-insured and covers approximately 1,100 employees and their dependents. Superintendent Micah Hill Tuesday recommended the district join the Bridged Health Alliance in an effort to stabilize insurance costs, keep premiums as low as possible and offer the best health benefits as it can. The district and its health insurance committee, made up mostly of employees, will maintain decision-making authority over Missoula’s plan, Hill said. Joining the statewide trust increases purchasing power and provides other advantages, but it does not guarantee lower premiums, he said.  The district first voted to join Bridged on a preliminary basis in December 2025 but held off on a final vote to gather more information about the switch.  Trustee London Meservy said he was not impressed by Bridged when the option was first presented to the board but that the updated information shows that negotiated Medicare rates at hospitals will help save money.  “Looking at it holistically, I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.  Several union leaders and school employees thanked the board for taking the time to consider its options and for working closely with the insurance committee before making a decision.  Scott Chook, president of the Missoula Education Association, said the insurance committee maintains its recommendation to hold off on joining at this time.  “It comes down to weighing the benefit of the potential savings to our insurance trust against the risk of moving to something with no proven track record,” Chook said. “With something as important as our insurance, most of our members believe, as I believe, that the safer course is the best course for now.”  Trustees Meg Whicher and Keegan Witt voted against joining Bridged.  Public Notice 🧐  9/11 memorials planned for today  🗓️ Friday, Sept. 11⏰ 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.  📍 University of Montana Phyllis J. Washington Amphitheatre near the “M” Trail and Missoula Memorial Rose Gardenℹ️ The city is holding a morning memorial marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 that will include remarks from first responders and Mayor Andrea Davis. It will be followed by a remembrance hike along the “M” Trail. The annual Never Forget service at the Memorial Rose Garden is this evening. Starting at 6 p.m., children and adults will plant 7,000 tiny American flags to honor victims of the 9/11 attacks, and the ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. Gates removed at parking garages  📍 128 W. Main St., 305 E. Front St. and 201 E. Front St.  ℹ️ The Missoula Parking Commission removed entry gates at three downtown parking garages and will use license plate readers to enforce parking limits. The plate readers are not Flock cameras, according to the city. Drivers can use the Passport App or a meter to pay for parking. The first hour of parking is free and costs $1 per hour after that. Parking is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends and holidays. The new system will provide better data and lower maintenance costs, said Jodi Pilgrim, the parking commission director. 🔗 More information about the change is available on the city’s website. Portion of International Way to be closed for repaving  🗓️ Thursday, Sept. 17, Monday – Wednesday, Sept. 21- 23⏰ 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 📍 International Way between North Reserve Street and Western Wayℹ️ The city’s public works crews will complete milling and paving work on International Way, weather permitting. The street will reopen at night and on the weekend. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes during construction.      Local Lineup 🚶 Sculpture Missoula will unveil five new sculptures recently installed in Silver Park Thursday. Like the first five sculptures installed last year, the new artwork is funded by grants and donations, not public funds. The free event at the park includes live music, snacks and refreshments and sales of small sculptures created by the featured artists. The event begins at 4 p.m., with brief remarks and artist introductions at 5 p.m.  The post A new place to go for kids in crisis appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less